Woman Arrested After Poison Sent In Letter To The White House
The RCMP says it’s conducting an operation south of Montreal in connection with an envelope containing the poison ricin that was sent to the White House.
Police said Monday the operation is occurring on Vauquelin Blvd. in St-Hubert, Que., on Montreal’s south shore.
The police operation comes after it was reported that a woman was arrested on suspicion of sending a letter containing a deadly toxin to the White House.
She was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge border crossing near Buffalo, N.Y., and was expected to face federal charges in the U.S., the officials said.
Her name has not yet been released, PA Media reported.
The letter, which contained the poison ricin, was intercepted earlier last week before it reached the White House.
Opération policière en cours sur le boul. Vauquelin à St-Hubert. Un relationniste est sur place pour répondre aux questions. pic.twitter.com/rC65WTeO5z
— GRC Québec (@grcqc) September 21, 2020
Notre équipe d'intervention en cas d'incident chimique, biologique, radiologique, nucléaire et explosif (CBRNE) mène l’opération. Les policiers et pompiers de Longueuil sont également sur place. Toutes les mesures nécessaires sont prises pour assurer la sécurité de la population.
— GRC Québec (@grcqc) September 21, 2020
Canadian law enforcement was called in to help the FBI investigate after American authorities found evidence that the suspicious letter had originated in Canada.
While naturally occurring, the toxin requires a deliberate act to convert it into a biological weapon, with exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead capable of causing death within 36 to 72 hours.
No known antidote exists.
The letter was intercepted at a U.S. government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and U.S. President Donald Trump and a preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, according to the officials.
